Release
The Board of Directors of the International Solar Energy Society has elected Dr. David Renné of the USA as the new President for the term from 01 January 2010 through 31 December 2011. Dr. Renné is the 26th President of the Society and successor of Ms. Monica Oliphant of Australia.
Dr. Renné has been a member of the ISES Board of Directors since 2004 and he was Vice President of Science and Technology from 2008 – 2009. He has also been active on the American Solar Energy Society (ASES) as Board member and Treasurer. He also serves as an Associate Editor in the area of Resource Assessment for the ISES scientific journal “Solar Energy”.
Since 1991 he has been working at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colorado where as Principle Project leader he develops and manages programs on renewable energy resource assessment and analysis. Currently he is also the Operating Agent of the International Energy Agency Solar Heating and Cooling Programme Task titled, “Solar Resource Knowledge Management”. Renné also manages the US Department of Energy’s Solar Resource Assessment activities funded under the Solar Energy Technology Program. Much of his recent work at NREL has been for international organizations such as the US Agency for International Development, the United Nations Environment Program, the UNDP, UNDESA, and, recently, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). In these programs he has managed solar and wind energy resource assessments and the development of GIS (Geographical Information Systems) tools for a number of countries, including several countries in Asia and South Asia, Central America, South America, and Africa.
Prior to coming to NREL Renné was a senior program manager at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, where he was heavily involved in both domestic and international wind studies, such as the U.S. Candidate Site wind measurement program, and a wind resource assessment study for Egypt. He received his Masters and PhD at Colorado State University in Atmospheric Sciences and Earth Resources.
Before he takes his new term as ISES President, Dr. Renné said upon being elected:"I am very pleased to have been chosen to serve ISES as its President for the next two years. I look forward to working with all of you in leading ISES toward achieving our vision of a rapid transition to a renewable energy world. We are at an important crossroads in our Society’s long history, with rapid development and deployment of renewable energy occurring throughout much of the developed and developing world. This historical shift in how society obtains and uses its energy resources is the result of many factors, including the recognition of the economic value in using clean and locally-available renewable resources, the energy security these resources bring to society, and the significant climate benefits offered by a shift away from fossil fuels. With an effective web presence and communication strategy, ISES can and will be at the forefront in informing society on the benefits of these technologies, and advising policy makers and project developers alike with credible technical and scientific information on how global society can transform to a renewable energy future."
On 1 January 2010 the new Executive Committee will begin its term. Along with the new President, three new Vice Presidents were elected. Mr. Ajay Prakash Shrivastava of India was elected Vice President for Science and Technology Affairs. Shrivastava is currently the President of ISES India Section, the Solar Energy Society of India (SESI) and ISES Director representing India since 2008. He is President and Promoter Director of the company Maharishi Solar Technology (P) Ltd, one of India’s leading manufacturing companies of PV and solar thermal technologies. He is also on the Boards of several international and national commercial entities as well as many educational and charitable institutions. One of his goals as Vice President for Science and Technology is to improve bilateral understanding, cooperation on science and technology issues and to contribute to better cooperative relationships between all the ISES charter countries.
Also newly elected to the Executive Committee is Prof. Roberto Roman of Chile as Vice President for Membership Affairs. He has been a Director on the ISES Board representing Unattached Members (those members not associated with an ISES section) since 2008. Prof. Roman is an Associate Professor to the Dean of the Faculty of Physical and Mathematical Science at the University of Chile in Santiago. He is also an Honorary Member of ACESOL, a Chilean trade organisation dedicated to solar energy and President and founder of EcoMaipo, an NGO dedicated to the promotion on renewable energy in Chile as an option of sustainable development. As Vice President he aims to promote ISES membership, especially in Latin America and developing countries, both at the student membership level, and individual and organizational membership.
A new position to the ISES Executive Committee is the Vice President for Conference, which will be filled by Prof. Dieter Holm, long time member of the ISES Board, former Secretary and Scientific Programme Committee Co-Chair of the ISES Solar World Congress 2009. Holm is also member and former President of the ISES Southern Africa Section, the Sustainable Energy Society of Southern Africa and is the Chair of the ISES Africa regional office.
As new Vice President Holm aims to focus on building the strengths of ISES conferences and maintaining the spirit of strategic alliances. Other members of the Executive Committee include Ms. Mahalath Halperin of Australia who will continue her work as Vice President for Public Affairs; Mr. Huang Ming of China as Vice President of Industry, who was elected in 2008; Torben Esbensen of Denmark as returning Treasurer; Mr. Peter Gorton of Australia who is the new Secretary of ISES as well as Ms. Monica Oliphant as Immediate Past President.
Congratulations to the new Executive Committee! A full introduction to all the members of the new Executive Committee will be featured in the first ISES Newsletter of 2010.
For more information, contact:
ISES International Headquarters
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79115 Freiburg
Germany
Tel.: +49 761 45906-0
Fax: +49 761 45906-99
E-mail: hq@ises.org
Web: https://www.ises.org